io9 
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San Francisco, 12:33 AM
Thu Dec 10
25 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/08/09
12/08/09
Rock me Dr. Zaius.
12/08/09
PARTY TIME! Monkeys love them some 90's music.
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
Plenty of animals masturbate, too - I expect they do so because they enjoy it.
-Kle.
12/08/09
I've always found this sort of research extremely interesting. Learning about the sexuality of many species of swan especially. I'm not sure how people can say homosexuality isn't "natural" when it happens in nature on a regular basis. Hell, dolphins (river dolphins especially) are all sorts of freaky-deaky with the sexual practices.
12/08/09
12/07/09
Can someone link me to reports on "a single copy of a gene promotes survival, but two promote homosexuality", along with "alleles promoting homosexuality in one sex increase fitness in the other"? I'm not saying they don't exist, but I've never heard solid evidence for either.
12/07/09
A big part of the problem is sheer computing power--the amount of data in a single human genome is staggering, and so far, studies on candidate genes for sexual orientation have only used markers, rather than whole genomes. We're only looking at a tiny fraction of the potential available data; no wonder we're missing things. It's my opinion that the genetic aspect of sexual orientation is going to have both genetic and epigenetic factors involved, that the genes in question will be numerous, and that we're really going to have to wait for anything cool on this until we can compare thousands of whole genomes.
The best model at the moment, given that identical twins can be discordant for sexual orientation (but are less likely to be discordant than the general population), is a diathesis-stress model, where a genetic predisposition is activated by environmental factors. Those factors could be operating in utero, so it's perfectly possible that people really are born gay, but most laypeople misinterpret it to mean that it's either 100% genetic or 100% choice, without considering that those two things are not end-points on the same spectrum.
(Also, YOU try getting funding to look for what makes people gay. Right-wing and left-wing alike are against finding a genetic cause, and most moderate people are only mildly interested in the question. And once you add in the diathesis-stress model aspect, where even if you find gay genes you still haven't fully answered the question... well, your potential sponsors are edging toward the door. And bringing up bisexuality, or, for that matter, female homosexuality--it's a research morass. I wish researchers in that field the best of luck, and will stick to attitudes, which are EASY to measure.)
12/08/09
12/07/09
12/07/09
Being a very well brought-up girl myself, I would never dare.
12/07/09
12/07/09
Look... I have Master degrees in Literature - I could still make you a lecture on the symbolism of unicorns in Medieval bestiaries. I think. It would include a lot of sex talk and weird pictures.
12/07/09
12/08/09
More likely, some people will soon be burning offensive symbols and run to the nearest church.
Could be fun!
12/08/09
Edit: And gay werewolves.
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
If I ever get kids, my hypothetical girls will never see the colour pink before they reach majority. And dolls will most likely be banned.
12/09/09
12/07/09
Have they really found specific genetic alleles that are linked to survival advantages and homosexuality? Or is this more of a possibility/theory than a sum of papers' results? I feel like there'd be more of an uproar if the supposed "gay gene" were found.
12/07/09
12/07/09
12/07/09
12/07/09
*sigh*
Great write, but tends to get too bogged down in his politics these days (like many, many writers - left and right).
12/07/09
Vampires as heterosexuals. That'd make Meyer the exact opposite of Anne Rice, no?
12/06/09
If you have to get surgery, all you can do is hope and pray that everyone that's touched you and worked in the room before you're in is actually sticking to Universal Precautions. It's out of your hands and you're screwed if the people at the hospital don't care. If you work in a hospital, tattoo parlor, dentist office, etc... stick to your universal precautions or you could do this to one of your patients because you don't want to foam, wash or wear gloves.
12/06/09
12/04/09
NAHHH!!! That's too outlandish. No one would ever buy the premise.